I found these beautiful paper works today online while surfing Colossal.com. I was first drawn to the beautiful patterns, but was then enthralled when I found out that they were all made out of thin, cut & rolled strips of paper!!! Amazing.

“Rabie” – by Gunjan Aylawadi…

“Against The Wind” – by Gunjan Aylawadi…

“Derweze” – by Gunjan Aylawadi…

According to Colossal.com…
The Sydney, Australia-based artist Gunjan Aylawadi creates intricate, colorful sculptures that appear to resemble woven textiles. However, upon closer observation, her work—inspired by patterns and motifs in Islamic art—are made entirely from curled paper. The process, long and intricate, can cost the artist months on a single artwork. And not just any old paper will do. For example, “Against the Wind” is made from hand-cut strips of paper from old music books, which are then individually hand rolled and assembled. Although complicated, Aylawadi’s reasons for making art are simple: “What I enjoy most about making my work is the experience people have when they look at it,” she says. “They stop for a moment to have a closer look and the moment turns into long minutes of being fascinated by the beauty a simple medium like paper can add to the work in front of their eyes.”

Kind of reminds me of my old high school days… playing with the old paper craft of quilling. Now if only I had Gunjan’s work as inspiration back than, imagine what I could have been doing?!!! A little bit more than this old “sampler” I made many years ago. And no, I haven’t kept it all these years. My Mom found it when they were packing to move and passed it back on to me. Now what to do with it???

I love when I hear from blog readers…. and hear their stories of how my little blog,
or my pottery, has somehow impacted their lives. Here’s one such case…

Your website was my inspiration.  Don’t know how I happened on to it
but my students were fired up after I presented the lesson.  I teach
high school art at Freedom High School in South Riding, Virginia.
I have 120 – Art 1 students; mostly freshmen.  First we made stamps
and then we made plates (slump mold into plastic picnic plates).
Then we used the stamps to imprint the plates.  The project was a very
fun success.  Thanks so much for sharing your ideas.     – Barbara

Tonight I had two little visitors stop by my studio.
My friend Kristen brought her two kids for an afternoon of clay fun. We decided to make mugs with AJ and Lizzy. AJ has played in the studio before so he was incrdibly excited to be coming back. This was Lizzy’s first trip in, but was quick to jump right in. We started by throwing ourt some slabs, and then they “refined” them with rolling pins… and such focus!!!

We then decided that they should press their names into the clay. AJ had done a clay project at a birthday party a couple weeks ago. And when he got his mug back after firing, it wasn’t his!!! Apparently, someone had written the kids names on the bottoms of the mugs before firing, and goofed up. He got someone else’s mug with is name on it. So this time, we were confident to NOT make that mistake again.

After they had stamped their names into the clay, it was time for other textures, patterns & details. Each of them worked very hard & stayed quite focused on their slabs.

Cute how they “almost” work together… with Lizzy always watching what AJ is doing!!!

Once their slabs were all decorated, it was time to turn them into cylinders. So a little scoring & slipping and we pressed the together.

AJ was a bit concerned that it might not hold together…

And when it did… the true AJ showed up again!!!

Then he scored & slipped the bottom of his cylinder so he could attach the mug’s bottom.

While Lizzy was a bit concerned about getting dirty.

Much better after a bit of handwashing!!!

After handles were attached, it was time to start painting. It’s a special underglaze-glaze-combo that is great for kid’s projects. You can paint it on leatherhard clay, let it dry, fire it once and you’re done!!! So they continued to focus as they painted with great detail.

When Lizzy thought she was done painting her mug, apparently she thought it was time to start painting her fingers?!!! Not so concerned about being dirty anymore, huh?

So here they are… two masterpiece mugs!!!
Of course, they could use a bit of touching up and a bit of cleaning around the bottom. But they were thrilled… and now very anxious to get their mugs back after firing!!!

Here’s AJ’s mug…

C’mon… just look at AJ’s tiger!!! Adorable!!!

And here’s Lizzy’s mug!

After a LONG Winter here in Chicago, we are now left with huge,
gaping potholes seemingly on every street!!!

I was so excited today to see that “someone” is creatively doing something about them. So much better than what the City is doing… just leaving a loose pile of asphalt “in, on, around, somewhere near” the holes and hoping that “somehow” it gets packed into the right place. This seems like a MUCH better plan!!!

Click here to see the video with mosaic artist Jim Bachor’s artistic remedy!

Sure, this might take awhile to catch on?… but if every artist “adopted” one pothole and did something equally as special as Jim’s solution, we might make an artistic dent in the pothole problem???

So I’ve posted about my Mom’s handmade pottery aprons before…
but then I must admit that I got distracted, overwhelmed & slid right into holiday frenzy mode! I know some people expressed interest in them then… so I’m posting them again! This time I am not so busy… I promise to follow through this time!!!

It was a bit reassuring to see that there weren’t really any good pottery aprons at the NCECA Expo. Not that we’ve “invented’ the apron or anything… but I do think we’ve designed a pretty sweet apron. It “works” in all the right places! Many of the potters at Lillstreet are already rockin’ a durable “Mom original” apron.

Here are some quick details about the aprons…
*  durable & washable heavy broadcloth fabric
*  lower section splits into two panels to cover each leg as you sit at the wheel.
*  patch pockets on the back of each hip.
*  straps actually go over the shoulders to avoid neck strain & fatigue.
*  three buttoned height adjustments.
*  three buttoned width adjustments.
*  “one size fits all”… for the most part.

Here is my friend & potter Greg Schultz throwing a large pot on the wheel…
and keeping his clothing clean all at the same time!

The following shows the current apron inventory. I have them for sale in my studio at Lillstreet. If you are interested in purchasing an apron – please send me a quick e-mail to “secure” your choice. They’re $50 each which includes shipping & handling (within the contiguous US States)… and they’re first come, first serve! Don’t miss out.

APRON A –
From the “Eclectic Collection”, a patchwork mix of gold-brown-earthtone
geometric patterns & textures. SOLD to Pam in Wisconsin!

APRON B –
From the “Eclectic Collection”, a striped patchwork with assorted pattern accents.
SOLD to Nikki in Illinois!

APRON C –
Navy blue with a small pattern of green, red & light blue across the apron.

APRON D –
A blue “denim” background with some printed patterns in yellows, reds & greens.
SOLD to Verna in Montana.

APRON E –
A cool mint green apron with whimsical butterflies flying across the apron.
SOLD to Fiona in Indiana.

APRON G –
A mind-bending pattern of black & white.

APRON H –
A retro-vibe with a musical flair!

Again, just let me know if you would like to purchase an apron.
Send me a quick e-mail to “claim” your apron. My Mom would be thrilled
to sell some more of them… which then means she can make some more!

So my new Swedish potter-friend Saga Johnsson has created a wonderful film.
It’s a couple of days in the life of a potter in Sweden… and the making of one of her trademark mugs from start to finish. It’s a great little film. Love the style. Love the music!!! What a great idea… a little shameless self-promotion with a wonderful twist. Brilliant!!!!

Click here to watch Saga’s Silent Film on YouTube.

First off… this is a pretty darn impressive plate.
Second… I love the swirling, spinning, ever-changing patterns in the colored slip.
Third… looks like my Beginner’s will get a new slip demo next class session!!!

Click here to watch the beautiful demo video.
And seriously, the music soundtrack to the video is pretty incredible too.
It makes the whole process “sound” like so much fun too!!!

As seen on (and borrowed from) www.ThisIsColossal.com…
As a person who’s spent more than a few hours at the seat of a potter’s wheel I can attest to the strangely soothing act of doodling around with wet clay sludge (called slip) before or after throwing a pot. As fun as it is, it’s still somewhat surprising to see the act elevated to this level of artistry by “Michael Gardner” who blurs the line between performance and visual art as he creates pattern after pattern on an empty wheel. FYI: the artist’s name is a Google translation from Russian via YouTube, if anyone have more concrete details on the performer/artist, send it over.

500 pounds of porcelain clay.
Three guys throwing… in Jingdezhen, porcelain town of China.
Now THAT would make one really huge pie!!!

Impressive, huh?! Now I want to see the pie that fills it!!!

Who knew that there would be beautiful pottery to purchase at NCECA?!
I expected to see lots of potters, tools & schools. Lots of pottery in gallery displays.
Sure, I probably could have read the NCECA Program a little closer. But I was excited to see so many great artists represented by different galleries… with so many great pots & pieces for us to purchase. And I did. I decided this was a great opportunity to add to my already overflowing “Mug Collection.”

Stacey Stanhope, Vermont
I love the rustic, yet whimsical, sort of woodcut designs. Love the simplicity & humor of the basic mug with a very comfortable handle & incredible illustration.

Karen Newgard, North Carolina
So many of our long bike rides have taken us through rural farmlands. The imagery in Stacey Stanhope’s mug (above) is very familiar… but these red-winged blackbirds made me smile. And reflect upon so many rides where we’ve seen red-wing blackbirds watching us, and occasionally swooping down at us if we got to close to their nests. I really like the simple, slightly crude, sgrafitto technique… with a tiny splash of color in just the right places!

Matt Long, Mississippi
The perfectly thrown, yet loosely altered & undulating shapes of Matt Long have intrigued me for years. My own personal “control issues” just don’t allow me to throw “loosely.” So I’m intrigued by people who can – and can make it look so simple. add some beautiful colors, slip & flashing and you’ve got one stunning mug!

Kip O’Krongly, Minnesota
I first saw Kip’s beautiful work up at Northern Clay Center in Minneapolis. She wasn’t there, but I loved the pieces in her studio. About a year later, I finally met her in her studio and got two wonderful bicycle plates. So it was just a matter of time before I added one of her bicycle mugs to my collection!!!

Today was our NCECA personal field trip. My friend Nancy Jana-Kent and I played hooky and went up for one day of the NCECA Conference. She’s the biking friend I’ve known for years, and suggested that we both take our first pottery class at Lillstreet many years ago. So it’s all her fault that I’m so addicted now… anyway…

We arrived in Milwaukee this morning after a rainy & gloomy drive. We registered in the lobby of the Wisconsin Center and then head off to see stuff. We didn’t really know where to go, what to see, what to do. We didn’t really do our homework beforehand. So Nancy & I were just winging it… ready to see a little bit of everything!

We started by dropping of my two cups for the Annual Cup Show. The actual sale event is not until Friday morning, but the tables were already filling up with mugs. I wish I could be there Friday morning to see how many mugs there end up being for the fundraising sale.

We then went into some of the smaller galleries. Each conference room had been transformed into a small gallery space. Our favorite was the gallery showcasing the work from the Archie Bray Foundation. Headlined by Steven Young Lee… who is one of the current “hot potters” in all ceramic world. He’s in all the magazines. He’s all the rage. He’s the hot ticket these days. He’s been making these beautiful, traditional Asian blue & white porcelain vessels… with one really big flaw! Okay, maybe it’s just me… but I don’t get it. I’m sure there is some very hoity-toity, symbolic artistic meaning behind them… but I would rather having the stunning vessel BEFORE the “accident” happened. Either way, even though I don’t “get it”, I can still admire the technical craftsmanship that goes into them.

A beautiful collection of wall pillows – with incredible dotted & drawn details by Giselle Hicks. Each individual pieces is pretty spectacular… but put them together into a “puffy quilt” and it’s even better!!!

Not a lot of purely practical & functional pottery in the gallery spaces. So I was really drawn to Paul Donnelly‘s beautiful set. Nicely thrown, beautifully assembled & glazed. But the coolest part was the unique wooden trivet-tray that all of the pieces rested on… and if you picked them up, the foot of each cup fit into a carved recess in the tray! Brilliant!!!

We also saw this great “set of ladles”… sorry, forgot the artist’s name?… but it brought up the conversation about how neither Nancy or I have ever made clay spoons?! And that we both think we should try it.

Okay, so by now you might know that I kind of have a “thing” for roadkill. So many bike rides have taken us so many over the years. So I loved this “ceramic roadkill” by Beth Cavener. Now I’m not really sure that that was her intention… but that’s what I read into it. And I loved it… all that was missing was the “smell of death.”

While in the “Grounded In Wisconsin” Gallery, I saw this really cool wall piece by Marta Matray. I loved the “pillow” volume, the texture and the beautiful flashing colors.

As we were leaving the small gallery spaces, we ran into another Lillstreet potter Marian Castro-Palanyk, who joined Nancy & I for the day. As we headed upstairs for the Resource Hall Expo, we turned a corner and practically ran into Aaron Nelson & Steven Lee. Two former teachers of mine from the old Lillstreet days. And now each of them have become “pretty big deals” in the ceramic world. I took wheelthrowing class & my first glaze chemistry class with Aaron. He is currently the artistic director at Medalta in Alberta, Canada. While Steve is the resident artistic director for the Archie Bray Foundation in Helena, Montana. Both “big wigs” in the clay world… always a bit surprised that they even remember me?!!!

As we entered the Resource Hall, I was kind of surprised to see a couple pottery galleries actually selling pottery. I kind of expected to see pottery in “galleries”… and not for sale?! Pleasant surprise, huh?… cha-ching $$$.

Always fun to see… Artstream Nomadic Gallery! A wonderful diversion & creative re-use of an old silver Airstream trailer. The entire unit has been converted & transformed onto a traveling ceramics gallery! Alleghany Meadows was the mastermind for this brilliant concept… and he makes pretty amazing work too!

So we continued through Resource Hall and saw a LOT of booths selling tools, glazes, books, clay, wheels, kilns… and did I mention tools?! We did a lot of shopping, bought lots of tools, and ran into a bunch of friends along the way. It was great to see so many familiar faces… Glynnis Lessing, Delores Fortuna, Amanda Syler, Dave Trost, Dustin Yager, Steve Lee again… and so many other familiar faces hovering around the Lillstreet Art Center booth.

We shopped and made it though about half of the Expo, when we broke for lunch. Incredible nachos across the street.. and then back for more shopping. More tools. More fun.

One little surprise along the way was when we stepped into the Coyote Glazes trade show booth. Lots of colors. Lots of glaze swatches. Still visually overwhelmed. But very pleased to see a mug there that I recognized!!!

Scott Reed from Symmetrical Pottery in Florida makes these awesome “sheet metal” mugs! And there one was glazed in Coyote “Root Beer” glaze. I’ve only “met” Scott online through blogs & Facebook. I’ve seen his work & techniques change & grow very quickly… and continue to see a LOT of pictures of his pots on Facebook. This was the first time I had the pleasure of seeing one of his mugs in person!!! Click here to see more work from Symmetrical Pottery on their Facebook page.

At one point in the Expo, I stopped off at the Medalta booth to say “hi” to Aaron again but he wasn’t there. Ironically though, they’re doing a Call For Entries for a “Spoon Show”… and didn’t we just say that Nancy, Marian & I were all going to tackle making spoons?! Coincidence?… I don’t think so!

We continued to work our way around the Expo. So many things to see. So many people to talk to. It gets very overwhelming very quickly. I’m sure it’s not so bad if you’re there for the full, multi-day conference. We were there for one day today, and determined to squeeze it all in. And I think we did a really good job!!!

As we were getting ready to leave the convention center, we were headed towards the escalator when I though I heard my name?!… Turns out it was my good friend & ceramic artist Cory McCrory! I was so glad to see her there… and a little sad that we were on our way home, and not staying to play longer!!! But we were exhausted… wallets spent… and ready to head home to re-live & admire our purchases!!!